GLOWING GALWAY – WHY I LOVE RAIN

After the rain is before the rain. That surely is true for Ireland, even more so for the West coast of the island. Drenched more than once, you wish your camera was weather proof. Which it obviously isn’t. The times I had to swipe raindrops from my lenses, each time hoping not to completely smear the glass. And the times I was trying to dry the camera from the water, each time hoping it didn’t actually enter the body. But the rain brings something wonderful, too. Dramatic skies and vivid colourful sunsets and sunrises.

This is why I love rain. It’s said that rain clears the air which makes the rays of the sinking sun scattered out and light up the sky in pinks and reds and oranges; a cascade of radiant colours to which the departing clouds serve as canvas. I actually have no idea about the physics behind it, but one thing is sure, clearer atmosphere results in brighter skies at sunsets (and sunrises, too).

Galway is a charming seaside Irish town with a row of colourful buildings along the shore. Pleasing to the eye, whatever the weather. But the houses of The Long Walk seem to glow even brighter against the pink backdrop of the sunset in Galway Bay.

Unfortunately, the sky didn’t light up the way I wished it to, but a nice rosy-warm softened the edges of the clouds, giving the shot a beautiful gleam. Now it obviously wasn’t the perfect sunset, but the shot turned out fine I reckon. It comes to show that you can still take a decent image even without those burning red skies. It was lovely to be out, once without rain, and see how the light changed changed from soft rosé to blue.

BEFORE AND AFTER

This image is a blend of a normal and a long exposure to soften the water.